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Khairkhah N, Namvar A, Bolhassani A. Application of Cell Penetrating Peptides as a Promising Drug Carrier to Combat Viral Infections. Mol Biotechnol 2023; 65:1387-1402. [PMID: 36719639 PMCID: PMC9888354 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-023-00679-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Novel effective drugs or therapeutic vaccines have been already developed to eradicate viral infections. Some non-viral carriers have been used for effective drug delivery to a target cell or tissue. Among them, cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) attracted a special interest to enhance drug delivery into the cells with low toxicity. They were also applied to transfer peptide/protein-based and nucleic acids-based therapeutic vaccines against viral infections. CPPs-conjugated drugs or vaccines were investigated in several viral infections including poliovirus, Ebola, coronavirus, herpes simplex virus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, and influenza A virus. Some studies showed that the uptake of CPPs or CPPs-conjugated drugs can be performed through both non-endocytic and endocytic pathways. Despite high potential of CPPs for cargo delivery, there are some serious drawbacks such as non-tissue-specificity, instability, and suboptimal pharmacokinetics features that limit their clinical applications. At present, some solutions are utilized to improve the CPPs properties such as conjugation of CPPs with targeting moieties, the use of fusogenic lipids, generation of the proton sponge effect, etc. Up to now, no CPP or composition containing CPPs has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to the lack of sufficient in vivo studies on stability, immunological assays, toxicity, and endosomal escape of CPPs. In this review, we briefly describe the properties, uptake mechanisms, advantages and disadvantages, and improvement of intracellular delivery, and bioavailability of cell penetrating peptides. Moreover, we focus on their application as an effective drug carrier to combat viral infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niloofar Khairkhah
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Namvar
- Iranian Comprehensive Hemophilia Care Center, Tehran, Iran
| | - Azam Bolhassani
- Department of Hepatitis and AIDS, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
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2
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Anti-HBc IgG Responses Occurring at the Early Phase of Infection Correlate Negatively with HBV Replication in a Mouse Model. Viruses 2022; 14:v14092011. [PMID: 36146817 PMCID: PMC9505635 DOI: 10.3390/v14092011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Anti-HBc IgG is usually recognized as a diagnostic marker of hepatitis B, while the functional role anti-HBc IgG in HBV infection has not been fully elucidated. In this study, we firstly investigated the relationship between the anti-HBc IgG responses and the replication of HBV using AAV8-1.3HBV infected C57BL/6N mice. Our data showed that the anti-HBc IgG responses at the early phase of infection correlated negatively with the concentrations of circulating HBsAg and HBV DNA at both the early and chronic phases of infection. This observation was confirmed by an independent experiment using AAV8-1.3HBV infected C57BL/6J mice. Furthermore, to comprehend the potential causal relationship between the anti-HBc IgG responses and HBV infection, mice were treated with an anti-HBc monoclonal antibody at three days post AAV8-1.3HBV infection. Our data showed that the anti-HBc mAb significantly suppressed the fold increase of circulating HBsAg level, and the protective effect was not affected by NK cell depletion. Collectively, our study demonstrated that anti-HBc antibodies occurring at the early phase of HBV infection may contribute to the constraint of the virus replication, which might be developed as an immunotherapy for hepatitis B.
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3
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Potential of cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) in delivery of antiviral therapeutics and vaccines. Eur J Pharm Sci 2021; 169:106094. [PMID: 34896590 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejps.2021.106094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Viral infections are a great threat to human health. Currently, there are no effective vaccines and antiviral drugs against the majority of viral diseases, suggesting the need to develop novel and effective antiviral agents. Since the intracellular delivery of antiviral agents, particularly the impermeable molecules, such as peptides, proteins, and nucleic acids, are essential to exert their therapeutic effects, using a delivery system is highly required. Among various delivery systems, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), a group of short peptides with the unique ability of crossing cell membrane, offer great potential for the intracellular delivery of various biologically active cargoes. The results of numerous in vitro and in vivo studies with CPP conjugates demonstrate their promise as therapeutic agents in various medical fields including antiviral therapy. The CPP-mediated delivery of various antiviral agents including peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, and nanocarriers have been associated with therapeutic efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. This review describes various aspects of viruses including their biology, pathogenesis, and therapy and briefly discusses the concept of CPP and its potential in drug delivery. Particularly, it will highlight a variety of CPP applications in the management of viral infections.
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Wirchnianski AS, Wec AZ, Nyakatura EK, Herbert AS, Slough MM, Kuehne AI, Mittler E, Jangra RK, Teruya J, Dye JM, Lai JR, Chandran K. Two Distinct Lysosomal Targeting Strategies Afford Trojan Horse Antibodies With Pan-Filovirus Activity. Front Immunol 2021; 12:729851. [PMID: 34721393 PMCID: PMC8551868 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.729851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple agents in the family Filoviridae (filoviruses) are associated with sporadic human outbreaks of highly lethal disease, while others, including several recently identified agents, possess strong zoonotic potential. Although viral glycoprotein (GP)-specific monoclonal antibodies have demonstrated therapeutic utility against filovirus disease, currently FDA-approved molecules lack antiviral breadth. The development of broadly neutralizing antibodies has been challenged by the high sequence divergence among filovirus GPs and the complex GP proteolytic cleavage cascade that accompanies filovirus entry. Despite this variability in the antigenic surface of GP, all filoviruses share a site of vulnerability-the binding site for the universal filovirus entry receptor, Niemann-Pick C1 (NPC1). Unfortunately, this site is shielded in extracellular GP and only uncovered by proteolytic cleavage by host proteases in late endosomes and lysosomes, which are generally inaccessible to antibodies. To overcome this obstacle, we previously developed a 'Trojan horse' therapeutic approach in which engineered bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) coopt viral particles to deliver GP:NPC1 interaction-blocking antibodies to their endo/lysosomal sites of action. This approach afforded broad protection against members of the genus Ebolavirus but could not neutralize more divergent filoviruses. Here, we describe next-generation Trojan horse bsAbs that target the endo/lysosomal GP:NPC1 interface with pan-filovirus breadth by exploiting the conserved and widely expressed host cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor for intracellular delivery. Our work highlights a new avenue for the development of single therapeutics protecting against all known and newly emerging filoviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel S Wirchnianski
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States.,Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Anna Z Wec
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Elisabeth K Nyakatura
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Andrew S Herbert
- Virology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, MD, United States.,The Geneva Foundation, Tacoma, WA, United States
| | - Megan M Slough
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Ana I Kuehne
- Virology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Eva Mittler
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Rohit K Jangra
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Jonathan Teruya
- Antibody Discovery and Research group, Mapp Biopharmaceutical, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - John M Dye
- Virology Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Frederick, MD, United States
| | - Jonathan R Lai
- Department of Biochemistry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
| | - Kartik Chandran
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States
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Fu X, Lou H, Chen F, Gao X, Lin Z. Hepatitis B core antibody and liver stiffness measurements predict HBeAg seroconversion in HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis B patients with minimally elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. Clin Exp Med 2020; 20:241-248. [PMID: 32052245 DOI: 10.1007/s10238-019-00603-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels between 1 and 2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) are common in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection. There are few clinical studies focused on this group of patients because of the poorer treatment outcomes compared to those with more than 2 × ULN ALT level. However, treatments are necessary to reduce liver damage for patients with minimally elevated ALT levels. And biomarkers are needed in predicting the treatment response. In this study, a total of 106 patients with CHB were enrolled and treated with entecavir, telbivudine or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate. Liver stiffness was measured by transient elastography, and quantitative levels of hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb) were detected by ELISA. At week 96, 31 (29.25%) patients achieved hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion. Notably, baseline HBcAb levels and liver stiffness measurements (LSM) were higher in patients who achieved HBeAg seroconversion. The multivariate analysis showed that the baseline HBcAb levels and LSM were independent predictors for HBeAg seroconversion. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of baseline HBcAb, LSM and the combination of them for HBeAg seroconversion was 0.714, 0.720 and 0.717, respectively. In addition, we discovered that the patients with baseline HBcAb levels ≥ 4.15 log10 IU/mL and LSM ≥ 9.85 kPa had higher rates of HBeAg seroconversion. Therefore, the measurement of HBcAb and liver stiffness might be good approaches for the optimization of antiviral therapy for HBeAg-positive CHB patients with minimally elevated ALT levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xihua Fu
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology Unit, Panyu Central Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Haibo Lou
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology Unit, Panyu Central Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Fang Chen
- Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology Unit, Panyu Central Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Xueping Gao
- Department of Hepatology, Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, China.
| | - Zhanzhou Lin
- Department of Hepatology, Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital, Huizhou, Guangdong, China.
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Li Y, Liu Z, Hui L, Liu X, Feng A, Wang W, Zhang L, Li N, Zhou G, Wang Q, Han Q, Lv Y, Wang Q, Yang G, Wang Y. Transbody against virus core protein potently inhibits hepadnavirus replication in vivo: evidence from a duck model of hepatitis B virus. Br J Pharmacol 2017; 174:2261-2272. [PMID: 28383135 DOI: 10.1111/bph.13811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2016] [Revised: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The therapeutic management of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections remains challenging, and novel antiviral strategies are urgently required. The HBV transbody, a monoclonal antibody (MAb) against human HBcAg coupled with the trans-activator of transcription protein transduction domain (TAT PTD), was previously shown to possess cell-penetrating ability and potent antiviral activity in vitro. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the antiviral activity of the HBcMAb-TAT PTD conjugate in vivo in a duck model of HBV. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH Female Peking ducks were injected i.p. with 0.03-0.3 mg·kg-1 ·day-1 of the DHBV transbody (DHBcMAb-TAT PTD conjugate) for 30 days. Serum DHBV DNA levels and liver DHBV DNA and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) loads were determined at scheduled time points. Immunohistological examination of DHBcAg in the duck liver was also performed. KEY RESULTS The DHBV transbody significantly reduced the serum and liver DHBV DNA levels at doses of 0.1 and 0.3 mg·kg-1 ·day-1 and liver cccDNA levels at a dose of 0.3 mg·kg-1 ·day-1 after 30 days of treatment. The suppressive effects of the DHBV transbody at 0.3 mg·kg-1 ·day-1 on the serum and liver DHBV DNA and liver cccDNA levels remained significant, even at 15 days after treatment cessation. Similarly, immunohistochemistry of liver sections revealed decreased DHBcAg levels within hepatocytes 15 days after treatment termination. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The DHBV transbody inhibits DHBV replication and possesses potent anti-DHBV activities in vivo. The cell-permeable antibody against the virus core antigen may be developed as a novel treatment for patients with hepadnavirus infections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiping Li
- School of Pharmacy, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Zhengwen Liu
- Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.,Institute of Advanced Surgical Technology and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lingyun Hui
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, School of medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Xi Liu
- Department of Pathology, First Affiliated Hospital, School of medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Ai Feng
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, School of medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, School of medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lin Zhang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, School of medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Na Li
- Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Guoqing Zhou
- School of Computer Science and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Quanli Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Statistics, School of medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Qunying Han
- Department of Infectious Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Yi Lv
- Institute of Advanced Surgical Technology and Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.,Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Quanying Wang
- Xi'an Hua Guang Biological Engineering Company, Xi'an, China
| | - Guangxiao Yang
- Xi'an Hua Guang Biological Engineering Company, Xi'an, China
| | - Yawen Wang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital, School of medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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Multi-omics analyses reveal metabolic alterations regulated by hepatitis B virus core protein in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Sci Rep 2017; 7:41089. [PMID: 28112229 PMCID: PMC5253728 DOI: 10.1038/srep41089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2016] [Accepted: 12/15/2016] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is partly responsible for hepatitis, fatty liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HBV core protein (HBc), encoded by the HBV genome, may play a significant role in HBV life cycle. However, the function of HBc in the occurrence and development of liver disease is still unclear. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, HBc-transfected HCC cells were characterized by multi-omics analyses. Combining proteomics and metabolomics analyses, our results showed that HBc promoted the expression of metabolic enzymes and the secretion of metabolites in HCC cells. In addition, glycolysis and amino acid metabolism were significantly up-regulated by HBc. Moreover, Max-like protein X (MLX) might be recruited and enriched by HBc in the nucleus to regulate glycolysis pathways. This study provides further insights into the function of HBc in the molecular pathogenesis of HBV-induced diseases and indicates that metabolic reprogramming appears to be a hallmark of HBc transfection.
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